Sunday, 1 April 2012

Holy Basil - Gall Bladder Surgery - Weight Gain

Feeling much better and stronger now im back on Holy basil. I think its a under-rated fat loss supplement.

Holy basil contains the bile acid analogues oleanolic acid and ursolic acid which are potent agonists of the TGR5 receptor located in the small intestine. Activation of this receptor appears to be crucial for glucose tolerance, post-prandial thermogenesis and increased thyroid hormone T3.

Bile acids secreted by the Gall Bladder are not just things that help you digest fat, bile acids themselves are important signalling molecules, and are a critical part of the incretin affect. Serum bile acids are reported to be higher in Roux-en-Y surgery and could potentially assist in weight loss. The way its suppose to work is that after ingestion of food, bile acids from the gall bladder are secreted and help digest fats but some bile acids also go on to bind to the TG5R receptor help informing your body that youve been fed increasing post-prandial energy expenditure, ultimately helping you stay weight stable.

A search on google for weight gain after gall bladder removal yields many results and personal testamonials of people expericing rapid weight gain after surgery especially in the abdominal region. This is no surprise once you understand the science and the importance of the bile acid receptors.

I have blogged before on how obese people tend to have poor bile acid secretion after a meal, and a possible reason once again may be our old friend and foe, insulin. Insulin suppreses Cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase which is apparantly is the rate-limiting step for bile acid synthesis from cholesterol.

Lastly, I briefly read somewhere before how the some strains for gut flora have the ability to modify and change the structure of post-meal bile acids. That probably needs more investigation though but it could just be another way the gut flora influence adiposity.

I would try to avoid having your Gall Bladder removed if you can help it.